Tech it away, Santa

There are so many gadgets out there that it makes picking just one for a Christmas gift to yourself really, really challenging.

But there is no challenge too big for a gadget lover like me. So here is a list of a few gadgets and then some, worth writing Santa about.

Iphone 5

Why I want it: My love affair with the iPhone began when I first held the iPhone 3G in 2007. Since then I have always included the iPhone in my must-have cell phone list. I like that what Apple has done is to build on a good product and make it better, so rather than introduce many iPhones, it stuck to just one good product. Because it’s an iPhone. People who have it have told me that the iPhone 5’s sleek design and speed of Internet connections make it better than my “old” iPhone 4S.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Why I want it: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 comes in a size that is great for capturing photos and making sure that I look good in them before Tweeting. The S-Pen, the Samsung stylus, is great for scribbling since I have stubby fingers. Of course, the fact that the Note 2 is thinner, lighter, faster and more attractive are reasons enough to include it in my must-have list.

G-Shock GA110 FC

Why I want it: Anyone who knows me knows that I like colors. And G-Shock watches are not only colorful — they are also shock proof and waterproof, making them perfect for me. Other features include mechanically designed hands, combination analog-digital timekeeping, and magnetic resistance. Of course, the fact it’s part of the limited-edition series makes for good bragging rights.

Asics Noosa Tri 7

Why I want it: I’m not a true-blue marathon runner. I am more of a village runner. I also love going to the gym and Asics Noosa is really fun to wear. The white letters on the front and back of the shoe glow in the dark. I am used to wearing running shoes at work all day — so I consider the Noosa a great pair of shoes for work. I just love the way Asics combines all the colors of the rainbow in its Noosa series.

HTC One X+

Why I want it: For starters it runs on the Android Jelly Bean. I am told that it is an upgrade from the HTC One S, of which I am a big fan. It has increased performance, longer battery life and expanded internal storage at 64GB — the most offered by any smartphone. It features a 1.7GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 AP37 processor. It features the newly launched Self-Portrait mode on the front camera, which applies enhancements to skin and eyes. Sightseeing Mode allows you to take photos even when the phone is locked as one touch of the power button bypasses the lock screen.

TRX suspension training

Why I like it: I am a gym buff. I spend as much time as I can in the gym — have been doing that for over 20 years. But sometimes when I travel all the hotel gyms have is a good treadmill. One of my workouts at the gym is TRX or suspension training, a form of resistance training that includes bodyweight exercises in which a variety of multi-planar, compound exercise movements can be performed. As I grow older, I like the use of the TRX because it means that I can do a lot of core exercises using body weight instead of heavy free weights. TRX training has helped in developing my strength, balance, flexibility, and joint stability by just hanging on to the ropes and doing a set of exercises — and there seem to be an unlimited set of exercises one can do with it.

source: philstar.com

New Epson Label Works Printers Now Out In The Market

Epson, a world leader in digital imaging solutions and also an established OEM stationery label printer maker, has made available in the Philippine market its first series of portable stationery label printers under its own “Epson” brand.

Epson’s move is to form part of a comprehensive set of labeling solutions for its customers – ranging from large volume industrial labeling with the Epson SurePress L-4033 launched last year, to the stationery labeling market. The new printers are:

Handheld stationery label printers:

1) Epson LabelWorks LW-300: accepts 9mm and 12mm tape widths

2) Epson LabelWorks LW-400: accepts 9mm, 12mm and 18mm tape widths

PC connected stationery label printer:

3) Epson LabelWorks LW-900P: accepts 9mm, 12mm, 18mm, 24mm and 36mm tape widths

The new Epson LabelWorks printers are ideal for homes, small offices home offices ( SOHO ) and small and medium businesses (SMB) for labeling anything from household items, scrapbooks, school books to stationery items, archival files and documents. They can also be used to print on cable wraps and iron-ons that are part of the large variety of media Epson offers for the Epson LabelWorks printers. Vertical industries like logistics, manufacturing, and building management will also benefit from the ability of the Epson LW-400 and LW-900P to print barcodes for tracking inventories.

“Epson has strong experience in this market as we have been an OEM maker for the top Japanese brand of stationery label makers for about 20 years” explains Ms. Donna V. Ferro, General Manager of Epson Philippines Corporation (EPC). “Harnessing our experience, we are entering this market to offer our customers an additional choice of label printing options.”

Key Features of the Epson LabelWorks LW-300/400/900P:

Reduced tape margins – Epson LabelWorks printers use tape efficiently, with 60% less margin waste (1).

Wide variety of label media – With more than 30 different types of media to choose from, users can express their creativity when it comes to labeling their belongings. The variety of supplies range from 9mm to 36mm, in different colors (standard, metallic and pastel), patterns (polka dotted pink / checkered blue) and varied applications such as – iron on, glow-in-the-dark, cable wrap, and index.

Customizable designs – Equipped with up to 14 font types and 10 different styles (bold, shadow, outline, etc), 459 symbols and 89 frames, the Epson LabelWorks printers offer tremendous creative flexibility for users in creating unique labels.

Template storage – The Epson LabelWorks LW-300 can store up to 30 custom designs, while the LW-400 can store up to 50 custom designs so that users can easily reprint the label designs when necessary.

Barcode printing – The Epson LabelWorks LW-400 / LW-900P can also print up to 13 different barcodes styles for labeling and inventorying of items.

Additional Features of the Epson LabelWorks LW-900P:

PC / Mac Connectivity – The higher-end Epson LabelWorks LW- 900P can be connected to a PC or an Apple Mac OS computer to personalize and create larger labels (up to 36mm in width).

Built-in cutter for rounded edges – The in-built cutter not only cleanly trims the tape after printing, but also enables users to trim the sides for rounded edges to give a more elegant finish.

Label editor software – With the label editor software of the Epson LabelWorks LW-900P, users can use fonts installed on the PC, as well as insert images and company logos for printing on their labels.

article source: mb.com.ph

Facebook sets $28 to $35 IPO price range

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It's the day techies and investors have been waiting for: Facebook set a price range of $28 to $35 per share for its initial public offering. It also upped the maximum size of its offering to $13.6 billion, up from its previous $5 billion estimate.

Facebook currently has around 2.1 billion shares outstanding, so if its IPO prices at the top of the range, the company would be valued at just shy of $75 billion.

Many Facebook employees and executives, including Zuckerberg, hold unexercised stock options. The company itself is also holding some shares for future employee equity grants. If all of those shares were exercised, Facebook's outstanding share count would rise to around 2.8 billion, pushing its valuation closer to $98 billion.

Facebook's target price range isn't binding, and could change several times before Facebook actually makes its debut. The company will set its final price the night before it begins trading. That's expected to happen sometime in mid-May, with May 18 the current target date.

Institutional investors who purchase shares directly from Facebook's underwriters, including lead banker Morgan Stanley, will buy in at the IPO price. Regular investors will get their shot the next day, when Facebook begins trading on the tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange under the ticker "FB."

The target range set on Thursday could be lowballing. Facebook said in a filing last month that it internally valued its shares at $30.89 each, as of January 31 -- up from $29.73 a month earlier.

Facebook's user base is growing. The site had 901 million monthly active users as of March 31, up 33% compared to the same date last year. User growth is fastest in Brazil, India, and the United States, Facebook said.

Zuck's windfall: Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg plans to sell 30.2 million shares in the IPO offering. If Facebook prices at the top of its range, that will net Zuckerberg about $1 billion -- cue the Sean Parker "you know what's cool?" jokes.

But Zuckerberg won't be hanging on to his cash. The company said he will use the "substantial majority" of the windfall to cover the whopping tax bill he'll be hit with, thanks to his plan to exercise a large stock-options grant that will substantially increase his ownership stake in the company he founded.

In 2011, Facebook CEO Zuckerberg pulled in a $500,000 base salary. But he requested -- and will receive -- only $1 per year in salary starting January 1, 2013.

Zuckerberg, who remains the largest shareholder in the company he created, still takes home a hefty pay package. His total compensation in 2011 came to $1.48 million, according to Facebook's calculations.

Although he only owns around a quarter of Facebook, Zuckerberg's shares carry extra voting rights. After the IPO, Zuckerberg will control around 57.3% of the voting power in Facebook.

source: http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/03/technology/facebook-ipo-price/index.htm?hpt=hp_t3